Featured Archives - Project LooM

Bhujodi: Part 1: Between nature and tradition

Shoba NarayanFeb 14, 2020February 1, 20210

Bhujodi is arguably the prettiest village in Bhuj. There is a neat main street with shops lining either side. When I drove in, I saw

Bandhini: Part 4: Magical fingers

Shoba NarayanFeb 14, 2020February 1, 20210

Many years ago, a holy man went to a khatri's house, and as the story goes, the sadhu was doing his meditation (jap) and knots

Ajrakh: Part 1: Multilayered and amazing

Shoba NarayanFeb 13, 2020February 24, 20200

Ever since fabric was invented, humans have tried various methods of decorating the plain woven fabric. Embroidery was one technique. Ajrakh and Bandhini were others.

Patola: Part 1: Making the magnificent Patola

Shoba NarayanFeb 11, 2020February 24, 20200

How do you weave the Patan Patola? What are the steps and techniques? Here, we explore the painstaking and lengthy techniques that together create the

Tangaliya: beaded wonder

Shoba NarayanFeb 7, 2020February 1, 20210

The bead-like dots that mark the Tangaliya weave are a painstaking process that involves wool yarn and twists.

The Dance of the Dye

Shoba NarayanSep 20, 2019February 22, 20200

A pictorial essay on natural-dyed khadi Natural dye is a long process, says Paresh Patel of Royal Brocades, Ridrol. It takes two or three days

The Weaving Ecosystem

Shoba NarayanSep 19, 2019February 18, 20200

Men and women. Whole families really. A complex web of professions. A mix of castes. The weaving ecosystem epitomises India. For example, in Gujarat, the

Weaver’s Emotions

Shoba NarayanSep 19, 2019September 22, 20190

We weave our emotions with the sarees. All kind of feelings being woven along with the saree. When I am sad, it will be little

Before the Weave

Shoba NarayanSep 9, 2019September 22, 20190

We celebrate weavers here. Of course we do. But for all that, there is the space before the weave. The space where threads roll out

The Dissenters: Naidu, Tagore, Ambedkar

Shoba NarayanAug 21, 2019September 22, 20190

Khadi’s path to becoming the freedom fabric was paved with thorns. Not everyone was on board with Gandhiji’s penchant for khadi. As Lisa Trivedi writes